St. Joe's Xzayvier Brown (left) and Rasheer Fleming address reporters on Wednesday night. (Photo: Aaron Bracy)
By AARON BRACY
January 31, 2024
Big5Hoops.com
PHILADELPHIA – Xzayvier Brown.
X-z-a-y-v-i-e-r.
It’s a tough one, to spell that is.
Yeah, tough, kind of like the person.
Brown, the marvelous Saint Joseph’s freshman, played fearlessly down the stretch, making one tough play after another to lead the Hawks to a 75-73 victory over George Mason at Hagan Arena on Wednesday night.
The victory evened St. Joe’s Atlantic 10 record to 4-4 while moving the Hawks to 14-7 overall. The win moved the Hawks into a tie for fifth in the league standings. A top-4 finish in the A-10 regular-season standings would give St. Joe’s a double-bye in the league tournament, March 12-17 in Brooklyn.
At this point, the Hawks’ lone pathway to their first NCAA tournament since 2016 is to win the A-10 conference tournament. As I’ve been saying all season, that is a real possibility with this talented Hawks team. Wins like Wednesday night are only going to help build their confidence as they try to move up the standings.
And having Brown play like he did down the stretch certainly is a boost for St. Joe’s. Brown’s terrific performance really is nothing new. He entered play averaging 11.2 points and shooting a stellar 45.3 percent from 3-point range.
But the way he took over the game in the winning moments against a very good George Mason team that entered 15th in the nation in field-goal defense was another positive sign in his development.
Brown plays with a swagger that is not boastful but is present.
“There’s a lot of things about Xzayvier Brown that have surprised me, but what I’m not surprised by is his confidence,” Hawks coach Billy Lange said. “I’ve seen this guy do so many amazing things, and he’s getting better and better.”
Lange saw more of it on Wednesday night.
St. Joe’s trailed by four with 5 minutes to play when Brown nailed a 3-pointer with 4:36 left to pull the Hawks within 65-64. Still down by one 1 ½ minutes later, Brown gave St. Joe’s a 68-67 lead with 2:53 left on a drive. He finished again on a drive, this time with his left hand, a minute later to make it 70-67.
With the Patriots now swarming his every move, he drove again and drew three defenders. He missed a tough shot, but there was no one to box out Christ Essandoko, who followed with an easy layup that made it 72-67 St. Joe’s with 1:15 remaining.
There were a few nervous moments, but St. Joe’s did enough from that point to secure an important conference victory.
“I thought they were amazing,” Lange said of Brown’s late plays. “The kid is consistent; he wants to work. He’s fearless; he wants the moment.”
Brown finished with 16 points while adding 4 assists, 4 steals and had 3 turnovers in 31:29.
The moment wasn’t too big for the youngster. Growing up on the courts of Philly and playing at Roman Catholic have readied him for this stage.
“I think all the work I’ve put in helps me be fearless in moments like this,” Brown said. “I’m not surprised because I believe in myself. It’s definitely rewarding when you know you put the work in.”
Brown said he gets a boost from teammates like Rasheer Fleming, who made a game-changing close-out of Keyshawn Hall’s late, 3-point attempt. Fleming didn’t block the shot but did disrupt a rare airball from the talented Hall, who led everyone with 19 points.
“My teammates, they believe in me,” Brown said. “Sometimes they believe in me more than I do. It’s fun having guys who back you, whether I make the layups or miss the layups. They help me the most, and also the coaches.”
In return, his fellow Hawks appreciate Brown’s game.
“It’s fun for me watching him do that stuff,” Fleming said. “He’s a big-time player.”
And tough, too.
Just like his first name.
—
Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. His byline regularly appears on Associated Press stories. Big5Hoops.com is his second website dedicated to Philadelphia college basketball. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages.